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MISSIONARY  HEROES  COURSE 

LIFE  STORIES  OF  GREAT  MISSIONARIES  FOR 

TEEN  AGE  BOYS 

ARRANGED  IN  PROGRAMS 


Mary  Porter  Gamewell 

Heroine  of  the  Boxer  Rebellion 


SOURCE  BOOK 

“MARY  PORTER  GAMEWELL  AND  HER  STORY  OF 
THE  SIEGE  IN  PEKING” 

By  ALEXANDER  H.  TUTTLE 


Program  Prepared  ip 
FLOYD  L.  CARR 


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Baptist  Board  of  Education 

DEPARTMENT  OF  MISSIONARY  EDUCATION 

276  FIFTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK  CITY 


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Mary  Porter  Gamewell 

Heroine  of  the  Boxer  Rebellion 


SOURCE  BOOK 

“Mary  Porter  Gamewell  and  Her  Story 
of  the  Siege  in  Peking" 

By  Alexander  H.  Tuttle 


Baptist  Board  of  Education 

DEPARTMENT  OF  MISSIONARY  EDUCATION 

276  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City 


OUTLINE 


Page 


Introductory  Statement .  2 

Program  for  Meeting  .  3 

Life  Sketch  .  4 

Life  Incidents  .  7 


Program  based  on  Mary  Porter  Gamewell  and  Her  Story 

of  the  Siege  in  Peking 
by  Alexander  H.  Tuttle 
Eaton  and  Mains,  $1.50 

FOREWORD 

THE  Missionary  Heroes  Course  for  Boys  meets  a  real  need. 

It  is  a  series  of  missionary  programs  for  boys  based  on  great 
biographies  which  every  boy  should  know.  Courses  Number 
One  and  Number  Two  are  now  available,  each  providing  pro¬ 
grams  for  twelve  months,  which  may  be  used  in  the  monthly 
meetings  of  boys’  groups.  Other  courses  are  in  preparation  and 
will  be  issued  for  subsequent  years. 

It  is  suggested  that  the  leader  purchase  two  copies  of  each 
booklet ;  one  to  be  kept  for  reference  and  the  other  to  be  cut  up 
to  provide  each  boy  with  his  assigned  part.  Some  may  prefer 
to  purchase  one  booklet  and  typewrite  the  parts  for  assignment. 
In  order  to  tie  together  the  life  incidents  as  they  are  presented 
by  the  boys,  the  leader  should  master  the  facts  outlined  in  the 
biographical  sketch  and  read  carefully  the  volume  upon  which 
the  program  is  based.  These  volumes  are  missionary  classics 
and  may  be  made  the  basis  of  a  worthwhile  library  of  Christian 
adventure. 

Boys  are  keenly  interested  in  stories  of  adventure  and  achieve¬ 
ment  and  it  is  hoped  that  participation  in  the  programs  will  lead 
many  of  the  lads  to  read  these  great  missionary  biographies.  At¬ 
tention  is  called  to  the  twenty-three  other  life-story  programs  now 
available  for  Courses  Number  One  and  Number  Two,  both  of 
which  are  listed  on  the  last  page.  The  books  upon  which  these 
programs  are  based  can  be  ordered  from  the  nearest  literature 
headquarters.  Portraits  of  these  missionary  heroes  are  also  avail¬ 
able  for  purchase  at  fifteen  cents  a  copy. 

While  these  programs  have  been  developed  to  meet  the  needs 
of  boys’  organizations  of  all  types — i.e.,  Organized  Classes,  Boy 
Scouts,  Knights  of  King  Arthur,  Kappa  Sigma  Pi,  etc., — they 
were  especially  prepared  for  the  chapters  of  the  Royal  Ambas¬ 
sadors,  a  missionary  organization  for  teen  age  boys  originating 
in  the  Southland  and  recently  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  North¬ 
ern  Baptist  Convention  by  the  Department  of  Missionary  Edu¬ 
cation.  We  commend  these  materials  to  all  lovers  of  boys. 

William  A.  Hill. 


PROGRAM  FOR  MEETING 


1.  Scripture  Reading:  Matt.  28:16-20,  especially  the  promise: 
“Lo  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world,  ” 
which  was  claimed  by  the  missionaries  when  the  shrieking 
mob  destroyed  their  mission  buildings.  Mrs.  Gamewell 
quietly  said:  “They  think  thus  to  shut  the  door,  but  are 
really  swinging  it  wide  open.”  (See  pages  127-138  of 
“Mary  Porter  Gamewell,  and  Her  Story  of  the  Siege  in 
Peking,”  by  Alexander  H.  Tuttle  and  excerpt  No.  10, 
included  in  the  quotations  for  the  program.) 

2.  Prayer. 

3.  Hymn:  “There’s  a  Land  that  is  Fairer  Than  Day.”  This 
was  one  of  the  favorite  hymns  in  the  crowded  Sunday 
school  at  the  Asbury  Church,  Peking.  (See  pages  152-157  of 
the  source  book  and  excerpt  No.  11,  included  in  the  quota¬ 
tions  for  the  program.) 

4.  Introduction  to  the  Life  Story' *  (based  upon  the  brief 
sketch,  following  this  program). 

5.  Her  Birth  and  Parentage  (pages  1-4). 

6.  China’s  Challenge  to  Christianity  (pages  23-24,  27-29). 

7.  An  Epoch-Making  Decision  (pages  62-63,  67-68,  69-70). 

8.  The  Journey  Up  the  Yangtse  (pages  103,  104-105,  110-111). 

9.  Injured  by  a  Hostile  Mob  (pages  123-125). 

10.  Mission  Property  Destroyed  in  a  Riot  (pages  130-132). 

11.  Securing  a  New  Building  (pages  147,  156-157). 

12.  Undergoing  Siege  at  the  Legation  (pages  226-229,  262-263). 

13.  The  Siege  Raised  (pages  276-278,  279-280). 

14.  The  Closing  Years  of  Her  Life  (pages  284-285,  298-299, 
303). 


*  In  order  to  be  able  to  tie  together  the  incidents  presented  by  the  ten  boys,  the 
leader  should  read  the  brief  sketch  included  in  this  booklet  and,  if  possible,  the  book 
from  which  these  excerpts  have  been  taken:  “Mary  Porter  Gamewell  and  Her  Story 
of  the  Siege  of  Peking,”  by  Alexander  H.  Tuttle. 


3 


SKETCH  OF  THE  LIFE  OF 
MARY  PORTER  GAMEWELL 


MARY  Q.  PORTER  was  born  in  Allegheny  City,  Pa.,  (now  a 
part  of  Pittsburgh)  on  October  20,  1848.  Both  her  father 
and  mother  were  born  in  England ;  the  father  came  of  an  old 
English  family  in  Stratford-on-Avon,  and  the  mother,  of  an  in¬ 
fluential  family  living  near  Nottingham  Castle.  Her  mother 
studied  medicine  after  her  marriage,  graduating  from  the 
Woman’s  Medical  College  in  Philadelphia  in  1859.  The  following 
year,  when  Mary  was  a  girl  of  twelve,  her  parents  moved  to 
Davenport,  Iowa,  where  her  mother  became  a  leader  in  her 
profession  and  in  Red  Cross  Service  during  the  Civil  War. 

After  Mary  Porter  graduated  from  the  Davenport  High 
School,  she  accepted  a  position  as  a  teacher  in  Grandview 
Academy,  Iowa.  Three  years  later  she  resigned  her  position  to 
go  to  China  as  a  missionary.  On  October  9,  1871,  she  left  Daven¬ 
port  for  Peking,  China,  having  been  appointed  with  Maria 
Brown  of  Melrose,  Mass.,  to  found  a  Girls’  Boarding  School 
under  the  Methodist  Board. 

After  spending  the  winter  at  Foochow,  where  she  studied 
the  language  and  secured  first-hand  ideas  for  her  future  work 
by  observing  the  methods  of  Miss  Beulah  and  Miss  Sarah 
Woolston  in  their  pioneer  Girls’  School,  she  finally  began  her 
work  in  Peking  in  the  spring.  One  of  the  cottages  on  the  two- 
acre  compound  was  given  over  to  the  young  women  as  a  home 
and  a  school. 

Establishing  a  school  for  girls  at  this  period  was  no  easy 
matter,  for  at  this  time,  when  missionaries  passed  through  the 
streets,  Chinese  mothers  would  still  place  their  hands  over  the 
eyes  of  their  children  lest  they  be  bewitched  by  the  “  foreign 
devils.”  When  the  school  was  finally  opened  in  August  with 
but  two  pupils,  one  of  them  in  terror  tried  to  run  away  the 
first  day.  The  decision  of  Miss  Porter  and  Miss  Brown  to  admit 
no  girl  with  bound  feet  did  not,  naturally,  augment  the  enroll¬ 
ment.  But  this  revolutionary  decision  was  to  mean  much  to 
China ’s  womanhood. 

Eight  years  after  establishing  the  Girls’  Boarding  School, 
Mary  Porter  faced  the  need  of  a  Training  School  for  women 
workers.  To  find  proper  candidates  for  the  school,  she  left  in 


4 


July,  1880,  for  her  first  country  tour.  The  most  distant  village 
visited  was  Tsun  Hua,  but  eighty  miles  from  Peking.  Other 
journeys  followed,  several  of  which  took  her  over  four  hundred 
miles  from  her  station, — journeys  which  were  fruitful  in  the 
securing  of  recruits  and  the  development  of  the  work  for  women. 

In  the  fall  of  1881,  the  Mission  received  a  new  recruit  from 
America  in  the  person  of  Rev.  Frank  D.  Gamewell,  whose  people 
were  prominent  Southern  Methodists.  He  became  deeply  inter¬ 
ested  in  the  efficient  Miss  Porter  and  asked  her  to  bcome  his  wife. 
They  were  married  on  June  29,  1882.  Mrs.  Gamewell  continued 
for  two  years  to  oversee  the  Girls’  School  and  the  Training 
School  at  Peking. 

But  in  the  fall  of  1884,  after  twelve  years  of  service  in 
Peking,  her  husband  was  appointed  Superintendent  of  the  West 
China  Mission  with  headquarters  at  Chungking,  Szechuan  Prov¬ 
ince.  She  reached  the  new  scene  of  labor  after  a  slow  but  inter¬ 
esting  trip  up  the  Yangtse  River.  After  two  years  of  residence 
on  a  damp  and  unhealthy  compound  in  the  heart  of  the  city, 
land  was  purchased  for  the  erection  of  a  new  compound  farther 
out  from  the  business  center.  These  buildings  were  nearing 
completion,  when  on  June  6,  1886  a  hostile  crowd  stoned  the 
buildings  and  slightly  injured  Mrs.  Gamewell.  A  month  later 
an  infuriated  mob  destroyed  the  compounds  of  several  missions 
in  Chunking.  Her  comment  at  the  time  was:  “They  think  thus 
to  shut  the  door,  but  are  swinging  it  wide  open.”  The  mission¬ 
aries,  however,  were  obliged  to  withdraw  for  a  time  and  the 
Gamewells  returned  to  Peking,  having  lost  all  their  possessions. 

Mr.  Gamewell  was  appointed  to  the  faculty  of  the  missionary 
college  upon  his  return  to  Peking,  and  Mary  Porter  Gamewell 
resumed  her  work  in  the  Training  School  after  an  absence  of  two 
years.  The  growing  work  at  Peking  necessitated  a  new  church 
building  and  they  returned  to  America  to  secure  funds  for  the 
erection  of  Asbury  Church.  Mrs.  Gamewell  had  an  important 
part  in  this  achievement,  expressing  something  of  her  spirit  in 
the  words:  “I  refuse  to  acknowledge  that  there  is  anything  I 
ought  to  do  which  I  cannot  do.  ’  ’ 

Aroused  by  the  progress  of  Christian  missions  and  embittered 
by  the  aggression  of  western  powers,  in  1900  a  terrible  storm 
of  persecution  and  devastation  broke  upon  the  missionaries  in 
the  Boxer  Rebellion.  The  school  year  had  closed  and  the  Game- 
wells  were  packed-up  ready  to  leave  for  America  when  a  tele¬ 
gram  was  received  telling  of  the  destruction  of  the  railroad  to 
Tientsin.  After  holding  their  barricaded  compound  for  two 
weeks,  hourly  expecting  attack,  they  were  escorted  to  the  For¬ 
eign  Legation  on  June  20,  1900.  At  four  o’clock  that  afternoon, 


5 


the  Chinese  Imperial  troops  opened  fire  on  the  Legation,  begin¬ 
ning  a  siege  that  lasted  eight  weeks.  The  Legation  with  its 
guard  of  450  soldiers,  sheltered  1,000  foreigners,  representing 
seventeen  nations,  and  2,000  Christian  Chinese.  The  mission¬ 
aries,  business  representatives,  and  government  officials  were 
thoroughly  organized  for  defensive  purposes.  Earthen  works 
were  constructed  with  bags  of  dirt  to  resist  the  almost  incessant 
firing  of  the  Chinese  troops.  Provisions  were  scanty  for  feeding 
so  large  a  number  but  courageous  cheer  characterized  the 
besieged  Christians. 

Finally  on  August  14,  1900,  the  Allied  Troops  succeeded  in 
reaching  Peking  and  raising  the  siege.  The  message  “Peking 
relieved,  ministers  and  missionaries  safe”  was  passed  from  city 
to  city.  But  the  storm  had  taken  a  toll  across  China  of  nearly 
300  Christian  missionaries  and  10,000  native  Christians,  who 
had  counted  their  faith  more  precious  than  life  itself. 

Shortly  after  the  raising  of  the  siege,  the  Gamewells  returned 
to  America,  for  field  work  in  the  homeland.  They  made  their 
home  at  Summit,  N.  J.  Mrs.  Gamewell,  in  spite  of  failing  health, 
traveled  extensively,  addressing  conventions  and  conferences. 
During  the  summer  of  1906  symptoms  of  arterial  hardening 
developed,  the  disease  making  rapid  progress.  On  November  27, 
1906,  this  courageous  spirit  passed  on  to  her  coronation. 


6 


INCIDENTS  IN  THE  LIFE  OF 
MARY  PORTER  GAMEWELL 

Reprinted  from  “ Mary  Porter  Gamewell  and  Her  Story  of  the 

Siege  in  Peking,” 
by  Alexander  II.  Tuttle, 

by  permission  of  the  publishers,  Eaton  and  Mains. 

Her  Birth  and  Parentage .  (Pp.  1-4.) 

Mary  Q.  Porter,  who  one  day  was  to  become  Mrs.  Frank  D. 
Gamewell,  was  the  second  child  in  a  family  of  three  daughters 
and  two  sons.  Her  parents  were  born  in  England,  but  she  came 
to  them  in  Allegheny  City,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  twentieth  day 
of  October,  1848,  some  years  after  they  had  made  the  United 
States  their  home. 

Every  positive  personality,  such  as  hers,  has  its  spring,  like 
the  River  Jordan,  in  some  Hermon,  which  pours  out  its  crystal 
streams  in  the  fountains  of  Dan  and  Banias.  Its  character  is 
modified  by  its  tributaries  and  the  country  through  which  it 
passes,  but  its  elemental  capacities,  which  are  ever  present,  are 
best  studied  at  its  sources.  Her  father,  Nathaniel  Porter,  came 
of  an  old  English  family  in  Stratford-on-Avon ;  and  the  name 
frequently  appears  in  the  annals  of  that  town  back  to  the  days 
of  Shakespeare.  The  father  of  Nathaniel  was  a  man  of  strong 
religious  character  and  a  master  of  a  college  preparatory  school 
in  his  native  town ;  and  his  son  received  a  most  careful  intel¬ 
lectual  as  well  as  religious  training. 

After  he  came  of  age  he  was  given  a  generous  sum  of  money 
and  came  to  America,  where  he  met  Miss  Maria  Killingley,  who 
had  come  here  with  her  widowed  father  in  1833.  They  were 
married  at  Allegheny  City,  Pennsylvania,  in  1845,  and  fifteen 
years  later  settled  in  Davenport,  Iowa,  which  was  their  home 
for  many  years.  Mr.  Porter  was  a  gentleman  by  birth  and  by 
culture.  He  had  a  mind  alert  and  acute,  was  an  exceptionally 
gifted  conversationalist,  and  was  widely  informed  on  all  the 
great  subjects  that  were  agitating  the  minds  of  men.  Had 
nature  added  to  his  other  native  qualities  the  genius  for  affairs, 
his  daughter’s  career  probably  would  have  been  very  different 
from  that  which  is  here  recorded. 

Mrs.  Porter  was  the  daughter  of  Henry  Killingley  and  Maria 
Whittaker.  She  was  born  near  Nottingham,  England,  and 
remembered  how,  when  a  little  girl,  she  ‘‘often  gathered  daisies 


7 


in  the  shadow  of  Nottingham  Castle.”  Her  mother  died  when 
she  was  an  infant,  and  her  father  brought  her  to  the  United 
States,  intending  to  make  this  country  his  home.  But  his  heart 
drew  him  back  to  where  the  wife  of  his  youth  lay  buried.  His 
daughter,  however,  had  no  longing  for  the  land  of  her  early 
sorrow,  and  she  decided  to  remain  where  she  could  make  her 
own  career  unhampered  by  ancient  family  traditions.  She, 
however,  had  been  well  born,  and  her  past,  far  more  than  she 
knew,  was  a  force  which  carried  her  to  her  destiny.  She  came 
of  a  people  of  sterling  worth,  in  whom  conscience  was  the  law 
of  life,  and  who  placed  duty  infinitely  above  gain.  She  was 
one  who  would  not  weakly  succumb  to  difficulties  but  would 
bravely  meet  and,  if  possible,  master  them. 

During  her  residence  in  Allegheny  City,  she  became  intensely 
interested  in  the  study  of  a  case  of  illness  in  her  family;  and 
with  the  generous  approval  of  Mr.  Porter,  hired  a  housekeeper 
to  care  for  her  home  while  she  pursued  a  course  of  study  in  the 
Woman's  Medical  College  in  Philadelphia,  from  which  she 
graduated  with  honor  in  1859.  Afterward  she  studied  Homeo¬ 
pathy  and  began  the  practice  of  medicine  in  that  school,  making 
Davenport,  Iowa,  her  home.  It  was  a  brave  thing  for  a  woman 
in  those  days  to  enter  a  profession  which  heretofore  had  been 
monopolized  by  men,  and  which  was  popularly  supposed  would 
detract  from  the  charm  of  femininity  of  character.  But  she 
triumphed,  demonstrating  in  her  own  person  what  is  now  every¬ 
where  accepted,  that  every  noble  calling  is  consistent  with  every 
womanly  quality. 

Mrs.  Porter  was  one  of  the  foremost  women  of  Iowa  in  the 
organization  of  women  for  the  relief  of  suffering  during  the 
Civil  War  and  the  troublous  times  immediately  subsequent. 
She  was  intimately  associated  with  Mrs.  Wittenmeyer  in  the 
organization  of  the  Soldiers7  Orphans’  Home  of  Iowa,  which  is 
now  located  at  Davenport.  Thus  Mary  was  born  and  bred  in  an 
atmosphere  of  intellectuality  and  conscientious  endeavor.  She 
grew  up  in  the  conviction  that  a  woman's  horizon  was  not  to  be 
bounded  by  the  four  walls  of  her  home :  that  world-wide  views 
really  sweetened  and  enriched  the  home  life. 

Chinas  Challenge  to  Christianity.  ( Pp .  23-24,  27-20.) 

Miss  Porter  entered  Peking  sixty-five  years  after  Robert 
Morrison,  the  first  Protestant  apostle  to  China,  had  begun  his 
lonely  work  in  Canton.  He,  however,  had  been  hampered  by 
governmental  restrictions  and  that  temperamental  conservatism 
which  had  preserved  this  great  people  practically  unchanged 
through  milleniums  from  away  beyond  the  origin  of  Christianity 


8 


or,  possibly,  that  of  the  Jewish  nation.  It  was  seven  years  before 
he  baptized  the  first  native  convert,  and  one  year  after  his  death 
(1834)  there  were  but  two  Protestant  missionaries  in  the  empire, 
and  the  Christian  Church  had  but  three  native  members.  Two 
things  were  required  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  kingdom  of 
God  in  that  land.  There  must  first  occur  certain  providential 
events  to  break  down  the  external  restrictions  to  the  Gospel ;  and 
then  the  evangelists  must  find  a  way  to  let  the  Gospel  light  into 
the  minds  of  a  people  who,  so  far  from  desiring  it,  sincerely 
believed  it  to  be  a  devilish  wickedness,  the  secret  of  their  national 
shame  and  disaster. 

The  history  of  the  propaganda  of  the  faith  elsewhere  would 
lead  us  to  look  for  great  world-movements,  in  which  there  was 
no  conscious  purpose  to  spread  the  Gospel,  but  which  would 
inerrantly  serve  that  end.  Egypt,  Assyria,  Babylon,  Persia, 
Macedonia,  and  Rome  were  the  unconscious  servants  of  the 
Almighty  in  the  ancient  days.  So  in  modern  times,  nations  with 
purposes  of  conquest  and  greed  have  been  unwittingly  the 
avenging  sword  of  the  Lord.  It  was  England  that  became  the 
providential  instrument  of  opening  the  door  for  the  entrance  of 
the  Gospel  in  China.  In  attempting  to  protect  the  interests  of 
commerce,  after  the  retirement  of  the  East  India  Company  from 
China,  England  became  involved  in  what  is  known  as  the  Opium 
War,  which  ended  in  1842  in  the  Treaty  of  Nanking,  which 
opened  five  ports  for  free  foreign  trade,  and  incidentally  threw 
wide  open  the  gates  for  the  missionary.  War  broke  out  again, 
in  which  the  Chinese  government  was  humbled  by  British  prow¬ 
ess,  and  another  treaty  was  ratified  in  1860,  which  granted  the 
representatives  of  foreign  governments  the  privilege  of  residence 
in  the  capital  city,  Peking,  gave  them  passports  to  travel  in  all 
parts  of  China,  and  a  guarantee  that  they  should  have  protection 
in  their  religion.  .  .  . 

Unaffected  by  the  great  events  which  prepared  the  Western 
world  for  the  Gospel  of  the  kingdom,  they  built  up  a  civilization 
entirely  their  own,  developing  a  literature,  science  and  art, 
which  antedated  by  centuries  those  of  the  European  world. 
They  had  their  vices,  their  rebellions,  their  frequent  changes  of 
dynasties,  yet  through  it  all  the  government  moved  on  in  its 
ancient  way,  and  the  normal  development  of  the  people  was 
undisturbed.  They  have  had  a  history  long  enough  to  enable 
them  to  fathom  the  deeps  of  every  religious  system  that  had  ever 
reached  them,  and  to  properly  estimate  its  value.  The  mys¬ 
ticism  of  Buddhism  had  failed.  Its  temples  are  neglected.  So 
far  as  it  relates  to  the  religious  life  of  the  people,  that  imported 
faith  of  India  is  only  a  broken  shell  of  a  nut,  the  meat  of  which 
was  decayed.  The  atheistic  faith  of  Taoism  had  practically 


9 


ceased  to  be  a  computable  force  in  the  land ;  an  intellectual  sys¬ 
tem  as  lifeless  at  Patristic  scholasticism  is  with  us.  The  moral 
system  of  Confucius,  beautiful  as  it  is,  has  proved  itself  in  the 
long  test  of  the  years  to  be  utterly  inadequate  4 ‘to  make  the 
comers  thereunto  perfect.”  The  ethics  of  the  ages  are  a  spent 
force.  There  is  no  hierarchy  to  deceive  the  people  with  a  form  of 
religion  in  the  place  of  its  reality,  for  the  emperor  is  himself  the 
representative  of  heaven  and  earth  and  the  people,  and  relegates 
none  of  his  glory  to  another.  But  the  recent  wars  of  China  with 
foreign  nations  have  shaken  the  faith  of  the  people  in  the 
divinity  of  their  rulers. 

Amid  all  these  changes,  there  is  one  thing  in  the  faith  of 
China  which  stands  unmoved  and  apparently  immovable :  the 
people  adore  the  Past.  The  holy  thing  is  that  which  has  been, 
coming  down  to  them  from  the  dawn  of  time.  They  fear  and 
abhor  change.  The  worship  of  ancestors  is  the  soul  of  their 
religion.  If  this  invulnerable  conservatism  which  so  appalls  the 
preacher  of  Christ  were  the  torpor  of  a  stagnant  mind  or  the 
decrepitude  of  old  age,  it  would  not  be  so  hopeless.  But  while 
China  outages  all  other  living  nations,  the  individual  Chinaman 
has  all  the  virile  traits  of  youth.  He  is  described  by  such  as  have 
labored  with  him  for  many  years  as  “an  emigrant  of  ubiquitous 
adaptation ;  a  business  man,  a  mechanic,  a  trader,  a  sailor,  a  dip¬ 
lomat.”  He  has  not  been  a  soldier,  for  he  has  too  lofty  a  con¬ 
ception  of  the  meaning  of  a  man,  to  honor  him  whose  chief  busi¬ 
ness  in  life  is  just  to  fight  and  butcher  his  fellow.  He  explained 
China’s  disastrous  war  with  Japan  thus:  4 4 We  are  literary; 
they  are  only  fighters.” 

We  in  these  latter  days  have  discovered  that  old  China  is, 
after  all,  a  youthful  Hercules  who  even  now  is  squeezing  the 
serpents  in  his  cradle.  But  when  Miss  Porter  entered  Peking 
these  latent  forces  were  not  so  apparent.  It  was  her  business, 
with  her  colaborers,  to  believe  that  these  forces  were  there,  find 
them  out,  awaken  them  by  the  Gospel  power  of  life,  and  at  last, 
when  God’s  hour  should  strike,  send  them  forth  not  a  horde  of 
barbarians  to  threaten  Christendom,  but  a  redeemed  host  carry¬ 
ing  the  banner  of  peace.  How  our  missionaries  did  this  miracle, 
and  by  what  means,  it  is  the  purpose  of  these  sketches  to  tell. 

An  Epoch-Making  Decision.  ( Pp .  62-63,  67-68,  69-70.) 

4  4  The  questions  decided  were,  should  or  should  not  the  feet 
of  girls  admitted  to  our  school  be  unbound?  And  what  should 
be  the  limit  of  our  intercourse  with  our  brethren  among  the 
missionaries?  Nowhere  else  in  China  were  the  feet  of  girls  in 
mission  schools  being  unbound.  Some  missionaries  thought  the 


10 


movement  to  unbind  the  feet  hurtful  to  the  progress  of  the 
Gospel.  And  we  had  been  told  that  if  we  undertook  to  unbind 
the  feet  of  pupils,  we  should  never  be  able  to  establish  a 
school  for  girls  in  China.  Already  some  of  our  little  band  of 
pupils  had  been  taken  away  because  we  had  unbound  their  feet. 

The  leaders  of  our  mission  were  men  of  vision,  judgment, 
and  faith.  They  were  young  and  had  the  enthusiasm  and  cour¬ 
age  to  give  full  swing  to  conviction  and  make  no  compromise 
with  expediency.  The  knowledge  that  we  could  count  upon  their 
support  greatly  strengthened  our  purpose.  We  decided  to 
unbind  the  feet,  and  in  so  doing  emphasize  our  teaching  that  the 
body  is  the  temple  of  the  true  God  and  must  not  be  profaned, 
Then  we  should  leave  the  results  with  the  God  whom  we  tried 
to  honor  before  a  heathen  people.”  .  .  . 

The  principle  might  be  stated  thus.  It  is  a  sin  to  crush  and 
deform  the  feet  that  God  gives  to  His  children.  We  missionary 
teachers  will  not  make  ourselves  party  to  this  sin  by  appropriat¬ 
ing  missionary  funds  for  the  support  of  children  with  bound 
feet  whose  parents  will  not  forsake  this  particular  sin.  Other 
little  girls  toddled  into  school  and  were  freed  from  the  cruel 
bandages.  They  came  with  stunted  bodies,  pinched  features,  and 
pale  faces.  After  a  while  they  found  the  use  of  their  released 
feet,  and  running  and  playing  in  the  open  air  as  they  never 
before  were  able  to  do,  they  gained  in  vitality,  then  flesh,  and, 
again,  rosy  cheeks  and  bright  eyes.  In  many  cases  the  children 
changed  so  markedly  within  only  a  few  weeks  that  their  relatives 
failed  to  recognize  them  and  were  perceptibly  impressed  when 
assured  that  the  change  was  due  to  release  from  the  bandages. 

“There  were  Chinese  preachers  who  for  years  sought  places 
in  schools  for  their  daughters  with  bound  feet,  then  finally 
yielded  before  the  steady  pressure  of  the  principle  and  unbound 
the  feet  of  their  girls.  Then,  first  to  excuse  themselves  to  the 
unbelieving,  and  finally  from  conviction,  they  began  to  preach 
earnestly  against  foot-binding.  ”... 

“The  girls  of  the  Peking  school  returned  from  their  first 
vacation.  Among  others  were  Clara  and  Sarah  Wang  (Sarah 
Fawcett  Wang).  Clara  and  Sarah  were  girls  of  about  thirteen 
and  eleven  years  of  age.  They  wept  bitterly,  and  said  that 
never,  never  did  they  wish  to  go  home  again.  They  had  been 
made  to  suffer  many  indignities  and  insults  because  they  had 
come  into  their  native  village  with  unbound  feet,  where  girls 
with  unbound  feet  had  never  before  been  seen,  and  now  they 
never  wanted  to  go  home  again.  We  told  them  of  the  difficulties 
of  all  new  beginnings,  and  how  much  they  could  help  all  who 
should  come  after  them  if  they  could  have  the  courage  to  bear 


11 


the  brunt  of  pioneer  work  in  these  new  beginnings.  And  we 
appealed  to  them  in  Christ’s  name:  ‘'Can  you  not  do  this  for 
His  sake?  Will  you  not  help  His  cause  by  bearing  this  hard¬ 
ship?  Go  home  every  vacation  and  tell  your  villagers  that  it  is 
for  love  of  a  new-found  God  and  a  precious  Saviour  that  you  re¬ 
move  the  bandages  which  deform  the  body  which  He  claims  for 
His  temple.  Keep  on  telling,  and  after  a  while  they  will  under¬ 
stand  ;  and  you  will  have  served  your  Saviour  and  made  things 
easier  for  all  other  girls  who  shall  unbind  their  feet.”  Those 
girls  responded  to  such  an  appeal  like  soldiers  to  the  bugle  call, 
and  never  after  did  they  complain.  They  went  their  way  on  their 
unbound  feet — a  way  which  led  to  many  another  break  with 
ancient  customs  which  lay  across  the  path  of  Christ’s  Gospel. 
So  our  young  girls  helped 

The  Journey  up  the  Yangtse.  ( Pp .  103,  104-105,  110- 

111.) 

In  1884,  two  years  after  his  marriage,  Mr.  Gamewell  was 
appointed  Superintendent  of  the  West  China  Mission,  which 
had  its  center  in  the  city  of  Chungking  in  the  province  of 
Szechuan.  The  Mission  was  in  its  infancy,  having  been  started 
in  1881. 

It  was  a  severe  ordeal  for  Mrs.  Gamewell  to  part  with  her 
friends  in  Peking,  and  to  leave  the  work  of  which  she  was  one 
of  the  organizers,  and  into  which  she  had  put  twelve  of  the  best 
years  of  her  life,  and  in  which  she  had  hoped  to  toil  till  she 
was  summoned  to  her  reward.  It  was  like  repeating  afresh  the 
sacrifice  she  made  when  she  abandoned  her  country  and  kindred 
in  obedience  to  the  call  of  God.  But  there  was  no  murmuring. 
When  the  pillar  of  fire  moved  on,  she  arose  and  followed.  .  .  . 

“At  Shanghai  our  party  made  preparations  for  a  long  jour¬ 
ney,  for  we  were  bound  for  Chungking  in  Szechuan,  which 
empire-province  lies  on  the  borders  of  Thibet. 

“To  be  sure,  one  thousand  miles  of  the  journey  would  be 
made  in  a  luxurious  river  steamboat ;  but  beyond  that  were 
weeks  of  journeying  in  native  boats,  when  we  should  be  depend¬ 
ent  upon  our  own  bedding  and  food  supplies.  Pish,  meats, 
fruit,  vegetables,  butter  and  milk  in  sealed  cans,  are  imported 
in  large  quantities,  and  such  supplies,  as  well  as  portable  stoves 
and  everything  else  needed  by  the  traveler  in  the  Orient,  can  be 
purchased  at  the  large  stores  to  be  found  in  Shanghai  and  other 
foreign  settlements  in  China. 

“The  Yangtse  River,  whose  current  we  were  to  stem,  and 
whose  scenes  we  were  to  explore,  winds  its  way  three  thousand 


12 


miles  from  the  mountains  of  Thibet,  where  it  has  its  source  at 
an  elevation  of  nearly  two  thousand  feet  above  the  sea  level,  to 
the  coast  where  the  mighty  river  joins  the  mighty  ocean.  In  its 
course  it  receives  waters  from  tributaries  which  drain  more  than 
half  of  the  provinces  of  the  empire — an  area  of  548,000  scpiare 
miles.  Sea-going  vessels  land  their  cargoes  at  Nanking,  two 
hundred  miles  from  the  coast ;  large  steamboats  carry  cargo  and 
passengers  to  Hankow,  about  six  hundred  miles  up  the  river 
from  Shanghai,  whence  they  are  carried  in  smaller  steamboats 
four  hundred  miles  further  up  stream  to  Ichang.  ”  .  .  . 

Contrasted  with  the  monotony  we  had  experienced  on  the 
lower  Yangtse,  we  had  interest  and  excitement  enough  when  our 
turn  came  to  be  pulled  over  the  rapids  of  the  upper  Yangtse. 
Long  tow-lines  were  thrown  to  the  trackers.  The  drum  signaled 
and  the  boat  swung  into  the  current.  Then  we  saw  the  men 
bending  almost  to  the  ground,  as  they  tugged  at  the  long  ropes, 
but  the  boat  moved  so  slowly  against  the  rushing,  roaring  waters, 
that  it  seemed  not  to  move  at  all.  At  last,  after  a  half  hour  of 
tugging  trackers,  roaring  waters,  rolling  drum,  and  shouting 
pilot,  our  boat  passed  the  two  or  three  hundred  yards  of  rapids, 
and  swung  into  calmer  waters,  to  repeat  the  experience  at  each 
one  of  the  series  of  rapids  which  infest  the  waters  of  the  upper 
Yangtse. 

“For  two  weeks  our  course  lay  over  turbulent  waters, 
through  narrow  gorges,  under  frowning  precipices,  and  in  the 
shadow  of  lofty  mountains.  A  member  of  our  party  remarked 
that  she  felt  oppressed  by  the  continual  grandeur  of  it  all — as 
though  she  were  passing  through  Hades. 

“As  we  neared  Chungking  the  mountains  receded  some¬ 
what,  and  a  more  restful  hill  country  filled  the  foreground.  One 
day,  a  month  after  we  left  Ichang,  we  swung  around  a  bend  of 
the  river  in  sight  of  the  city.  The  vast  and  solemn  solitudes 
out  of  which  we  had  come  left  us  with  an  impression  of  hav¬ 
ing  arrived  at  the  end  of  the  world,  with  the  habitations  of 
men  left  far  behind,  and  the  great  city,  with  its  frowning  wall 
encircling  the  rocky  spur  on  which  the  city  lay,  seemed  an  un¬ 
real  thing,  a  vision.” 


Injured  By  a  Hostile  Mob.  ( Pp .  123-125.) 

“This  6th  of  June  was  the  5th  of  the  Fifth  Moon  (a  great 
Chinese  feast  day)  and  the  day  of  the  Chinese  Dragon  Festi¬ 
val.  The  people  wanted  to  come  in  and  were  rude.  One  of  the 
servants  said:  ‘Wait  until  the  place  is  finished  and  we  will  in¬ 
vite  you  in.’  They  replied:  ‘We  are  working  people  and  can¬ 
not  come  any  other  day.  We  intend  to  come  in  today.'  I  told 


13 


them  that  people  who  had  no  ‘li’  (manners)  and  wanted  to  go 
contrary  to  their  own  customs  were  not  to  be  trusted;  they 
would  be  sure  to  take  things  from  the  place  if  let  in.  .  It  was 
now  so  late  that  I  knew  the  gentlemen  must  be  on  their  way 
from  town,  and  I  hoped  to  gain  time  so  that  they  might  arrive. 
But  the  people  grew  so  rude  that  the  servant  who  had  asked  me 
to  come  out  to  the  crowd  now  begged  me  to  go  in.  Our  cook 
went  for  a  chief  of  police.  When  he  arrived,  the  people  only 
laughed  at  him,  and  he  could  not  disperse  them.  When  I 
started  in,  someone  threw  at  me  and  the  crowd  set  up  a  howl. 
I  backed  against  a  wall.  The  official  and  cook  managed  to  keep 
the  crowds  back  until  I  got  away.  While  I  stood  outside  the 
last  time,  a  bright-faced  little  girl  stood  beside  me,  and  when  I 
started  in  she  came  out  of  the  crowd  and  followed  me  back, 
talking  in  a  trembling  and  yet  sympathetic  voice.  She  went  on 
and  asked  if  she  might  come  to  the  house  with  me,  and  if  I  would 
teach  her  to  write.  She  chattered  on  so  bright  and  cheery,  a 
perfect  little  sunbeam  shining  through  a  dark  cloud.  I  left  the 
cook  in  the  street,  and,  as  it  was  almost  supper  time  and  the 
gentlemen  would  soon  be  home,  I  thought  I  would  prepare  sup¬ 
per.  I  heard  a  great  pounding  at  the  gate  and  feared  they 
might  get  in.  Remembering  how  they  ran  from  me  at  first,  I 
thought  that  with  Mr.  Gameweirs  gun  I  might  make  them  run 
again,  in  case  they  got  in,  and  perhaps  keep  the  place  until  the 
gentlemen  came.  They  were  expected  now  every  minute.  I  put 
the  gun  together  the  best  1  *  could,  and  took  it,  unloaded  of 
course,  and  went  into  the  kitchen.  The  little  girl  stood  at  the 
door  and  soon  announced :  1  They  are  in.  They  are  coming. 7 
Sure  enough,  they  had  broken  down  the  immense  hospital  gate 
and  were  crowding  in.  I  took  the  gun  and  started  toward  them. 
When  a  hundred  or  more  feet  away  the  crowd  caught  sight  of 
the  gun  and  made  off  in  haste  through  the  broken  gate.  I  went 
down  and  stood  guard  at  the  gate  while  one  half  of  the  great 
door  was  shut  and  braced  up  with  heavy  stones.  I  saw  there 
would  be  a  struggle  if  we  attempted  to  have  the  other  half 
put  up.  So  I  stood  guard  keeping  out  the  crowd,  hoping  for  the 
return  of  the  gentlemen. 

“At  this  juncture  the  cook  went  to  Fu  Tou  Kuan  for  the 
magistrate.  A  man  diverted  my  attention  by  coming  up  with 
a  child  and  pretending  to  be  a  friend  whom  I  did  not  recognize. 
Suddenly  someone  seized  the  barrel  of  the  gun.  The  crowd 
sprung  to  his  assistance,  the  servants  to  mine.  Two  servants  and 
I  pulled  one  way  and  as  many  as  could  get  hold  of  the  barrel 
pulled  the  other  way.  As  I  pulled  in  desperation  what  thoughts 
crowded  my  mind!  1  Frank’s  gun,  a  gift  from  his  brother,  now 
dead.  Just  arrived,  not  yet  used.  How  silly  to  bring  it  out ! 


14 


What  shall  I  do  if  they  get  away  with  it?’  How  we  pulled !  We 
had  an  advantage  in  having  hold  of  the  butt  end.  They  threw 
at  me  and  pounded  my  fingers  with  their  fists,  while  others 
pulled.  There  could  be  only  one  end.  They  made  off  with  the 
gun,  and  I  stood  in  distress  and  shame  to  see  it  go.  The 
stampede  for  the  gun  seemed  to  frighten  those  outside,  and  the 
crowd  gave  away  and  many  ran  right  away.  There  was  hub¬ 
bub  about  me.  One  said  they  did  not  believe  in  tobacco,  and  I 
turned  to  see  the  servants  looking  at  me  in  great  concern.  The 
old  gateman  had  some  fine  tobacco  in  his  hand  which  he  offered 
to  tie  about  my  finger.  Then  I  saw  that  the  index  finger  of  my 
right  hand  was  cut  almost  to  the  bone.  The  blood  had  flowed 
quite  a  little  stream,  staining  the  soft  stone  quite  red.  My 
dress  was  spattered  with  mud,  my  hair  and  neck  on  one  side 
were  all  plastered  with  mud,  and  on  the  same  side  a  big  swell¬ 
ing  was  rapidly  rising  just  below  the  temple.  The  crowd  had 
caught  sight  of  me  and  fled  in  dismay,  afraid  of  being  held  ac¬ 
countable,  no  doubt,  for  a  worse  task  than  they  attempted  to 
undertake.  ’  ’ 


Mission  Property  Destroyed  in  a  Riot .  ( Pp .  130-132.) 


If  the  purpose  of  the  officials  in  exciting  or  favoring  the  pop¬ 
ular  tumult  was  to  expel  Christianity  from  their  midst,  they 
could  not  have  acted  in  greater  unwisdom.  They  started  a  cy¬ 
clone  which  they  could  not  control,  black  with  swirling  clouds 
of  insane  passion,  full  of  uproar,  deafened  to  every  call  of 
mercy  or  reason,  increasing  in  power  with  every  mad  bound, 
whirling  in  its  furious  coils  the  wrecks  of  missions  and  consular 
agencies,  but  a  power  that  was  sure  to  stir  the  conscience  of  the 
entire  Christian  world,  and  rouse  the  governments  of  Christen¬ 
dom  to  force  restitution  and 'to  open  the  way  for  the  entrance 
and  security  of  all  who  chose  to  enter  the  land.  Mrs.  Game- 
well  in  the  darkest  moment  of  that  riot  with  clear  vision  saw 
the  outcome,  and  said:  “They  think  thus  to  shut  the  door,  but 
are  really  swinging  it  wide  open.” 


The  mad  fury  of  a  mob  is  far  more  to  be  dreaded  than  a 
cyclone.  It  is  cruel,  pitiless,  fiendish.  Every  brutal  passion, 
long  held  in  leash,  is  let  loose.  Every  noble  feeling  of  the  soul, 
even  the  restraining  sentiment  of  fear,  is  lost  in  an  unthinking 
impulsion.  The  muttering  of  a  cyclone  is  music  itself  in  com¬ 
parison  to  the  shrieks  of  an  infuriated  populace.  One  might  as 
well  reason  with  the  tumultuous  sea,  or  attempt  to  retain  the 
thunderbolt  in  the  cloud,  as  to  resist  this  onrushing  human 
cyclone. 


This  terror  struck  our  little  company  in  Chungking.  They 
heard  it  from  afar,  and  saw  it  bounding  in  frightful  destruc- 


15 


tion  from  place  to  place.  It  swept  away  every  trace  of  the 
foreigner  wherever  it  struck.  It  paused  not  for  a  moment  to 
attack  even  the  British  consular  agency,  which  was  the  second 
property  in  the  city  destroyed.  The  Methodist  compound  was 
the  last  attacked.  Its  inmates  could  see  the  destructive  work  on 
the  Homan  Catholic  Cathedral  which  was  not  far  away,  and  they 
knew  that  their  turn  would  come  next.  There  was  no  time  for 
counsel.  Mr.  Gamewell  hastily  sent  a  man  to  secure  a  boat, 
hoping  to  escape  to  the  river,  on  the  treacherous  current  of  which 
they  might  float  away  to  where  God  might  lead  them.  But  it  was 
too  late.  The  shrieking  mob  had  gathered  at  the  front  gate 
which  had  been  barricaded,  and  began  to  batter  it  down.  The 
missionaries  lifted  their  hearts  to  God  in  prayer.  None  of  them 
were  terror-stricken,  for  even  then,  as  Mrs.  Gamewell  said,  they 
realized  the  promise  fulfilled,  “Lo  I  am  with  you  alway,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world.” 

While  the  mob  was  forcing  its  way  through  the  front  gate  of 
the  mission  premises,  an  officer  came  to  the  rear  gate  and  urged 
the  missionaries  to  hasten  for  their  lives.  It  seems  that  the  mag¬ 
istrate,  however  much  he  may  have  sympathized  with  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  the  mob  to  rid  the  city  of  all  traces  of  the  foreigners,  was 
very  unwilling  to  have  any  of  them  slain.  He  was  wise  enough 
to  foresee  the  consequences,  and  had  planned  to  shelter  them  in 
his  yamen  until  he  could  arrange  for  their  safe  conveyance  down 
the  river. 

Securing  a  New  Building.  (Pp.  147,  156-157.) 

In  addition  to  her  training  school,  there  were  two  things  in 
which  she  took  a  very  active  part  and  on  which  she  put  the 
stamp  of  her  own  individuality.  One  was  the  erection  of  the 
large  and  beautiful  Asbury  Church.  Dr.  Lowry,  after  her  de¬ 
cease,  wrote :  ‘  ‘  Her  letters  more  than  anything  else  made  pos¬ 
sible  Asbury  Church  in  Peking,  with  all  it  means  in  the  life 
and  work  of  the  mission.”  The  story  is  fully  told  in  one  of  her 
letters  of  appeal  to  Chaplain  McCabe,  then  corresponding  sec¬ 
retary  of  the  Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  The  substance  of  this  letter  is  here  given : 

“We  are  in  trouble.  Let  me  tell  you  our  trouble,  and  please 
help  us.  The  Mission  chapel  is  giving  way.  We  began  to  prop 
and  mend  it  a  year  ago,  but  now  the  walls  lean  worse,  the  cracks 
are  wider,  and  the  timbers  bend  more  threateningly.  If  you 
could  stand  by  the  old  weather-beaten  chapel  and  hear  its  his¬ 
tory,  so  interwoven  with  all  the  Mission’s  joys  and  sorrows,  and 
its  hopes,  past  and  future,  and  realize  how  much  depends  upon 
our  Mission  chapel,  your  voice  would  ring  out  with  energy  of 


16 


speech  and  song  that  would  win  for  us  the  help  we  need.  It  is 
no  shame  for  the  chapel  to  fall.  It  has  stood  nearly  twenty 
years  and  cost  only  two  thousand  dollars  when  it  was  built.  We 
knew  it  could  not  be  long-lived  because  there  was  not  money 
enough  to  build  substantially.  It  is  now  the  oldest  building  in 
the  Mission.”  .  .  . 

“Then  a  second  trouble  threatened.  The  walls  of  the  church 
had  cracked  and  now  they  were  bulging  and  it  looked  as  if  the 
heavy  tiled  roof  might  fall  in  some  day,  and  then  there  would 
be  no  meeting  place.  Besides,  how  awful  if  it  should  fall  while 
the  house  was  full  of  children !  This  second  trouble  passed  in  as 
wonderful  a  way  as  did  the  first.  Stays  were  put  against  the 
cracked  walls  and  extra  supports  under  the  heavy  roof.  Then 
a  letter  was  sent  to  the  homeland,  out  of  which  came  all  sup¬ 
plies  and  much  good  cheer.  The  letter  was  received  by  one 
whose  great  heart  abounded  in  ways  and  means  of  winning  men 
and  the  contents  of  their  pocketbooks,  and  by  return  mail  he 
forwarded  the  first  installment  of  a  sum  sufficient  to  build  a 
church  large  enough  to  accommodate  the  work,  as  all  then 
thought,  for  the  next  twenty  years.  With  the  money  went  also 
a  letter  full  of  cheer  and  inspiring  energy. 

“In  course  of  time  the  church  was  completed,  and  almost 
immediately  it  was  filled  by  the  still  growing  Sunday  school. 
By  this  time  the  Sunday  school  had  such  fame  that  it  was  visited 
by  travelers  as  one  of  the  sights  of  Peking,  and  workers  of  sister 
denominations  seemed  to  take  as  much  pride  in  the  Sunday 
school  and  its  beautiful  house  as  if  it  were  all  their  own ;  and 
all  who  visited  the  school  said:  'There  is  nothing  else  in  China 
like  it,.’ 

“The  time  had  been  when  members  of  the  Mission  could  not 
appear  outside  the  Mission  walls  anywhere  in  the  neighborhood 
without  being  hailed  by  some  child  at  a  safe  distance,  'Foreign 
devil!  foreign  devil!’  Now  the  Sunday  school  has  done  its 
work  and  the  cry  heard  on  every  hand  is:  'Teacher,  teacher,  how 
many  days  to  next  Sunday  ?  ’  And  from  over  walls  of  the  neigh¬ 
bors  ’  courts  a  passer  in  the  street  may  hear  childish  voices  sing¬ 
ing,  'Jesus  loves  me,’  'There  is  a  land  fairer  than  day,’  and 
other  hymns  learned  in  the  Sunday  school,  where  these  children 
find  the  one  warmest,  brightest,  most  joyous  hour  of  all  the 
week.  ” 


Undergoing  Siege  (it  the  Legation. 
263.) 


(Pp.  226- 


Peking  lies 
port  of  entry. 


eighty  miles  inland  from  Tientsin,  which  is  its 
Tientsin  is  situated  on  the  Pei  Ho  River  fifty  miles 


17 


from  its  mouth,  where  are  the  Ta  Ku  forts,  off:  which  were  gath¬ 
ering  the  war  vessels  of  the  nations.  From  Tientsin  and  the 
war  vessels  alone  could  come  any  human  help  to  the  besieged  in 
Peking.  The  railroad  was  destroyed,  mails  discontinued,  tele¬ 
graph  lines  down,  thousands  of  Chinese  soldiers  and  Boxers 
swarmed  the  city  walls  and  pressed  so  closely  upon  our  lines 
that  no  word  from  the  outside  world  could  reach  us  and  no  one 
could  escape  to  tell  the  waiting  world  anything  concerning  our 
condition. 

Rifle  fire  opened  upon  us  at  four  o’clock  in  the  afternoon  of 
June  20,  and  never  entirely  ceased,  day  and  night,  until  the  al¬ 
lies  came  on  the  fourteenth  of  August  and  put  the  enemy  to 
flight.  There  were  consecutive  hours  of  many  days  and  nights 
when  hundreds  of  rifles  were  let  loose  upon  us  at  once,  and  it 
often  seemed  as  if  the  whole  surface  of  our  walls  were  simultan¬ 
eously  covered  with  bullets.  Portions  of  solid  brick  walls  were 
pulverized  by  continuous  discharge  of  rifles  against  them.  Mann- 
licher  and  Mauser  rifles,  provided  with  smokeless  powder,  were 
trained  against  us  in  great  numbers :  for  the  Chinese  were 
equipped  with  the  best  modern  appliances  and,  as  it  proved,  with 
almost  inexhaustible  supplies  of  ammunition.  At  times  the  fir¬ 
ing  was  limited  to  sharpshooters,  who  climbed  into  the  trees  and 
other  high  places,  to  which  they  could  not  be  easily  traced  be¬ 
cause  the  smokeless  powder  gave  so  little  sign  in  performing  its 
deadly  work. 

One  day  one  of  our  American  soldiers,  who  was  a  fine  marks¬ 
man,  strode  by  where  I  was  at  work.  They  told  me  that  he  and 
two  others  were  detailed  to  watch  for  a  Chinese  sharpshooter  who 
had  the  range  of  a  certain  walk  of  the  British  Legation  which 
was  frequented  by  the  women  and  children  of  the  Legation.  For 
many  hours  they  kept  the  grim  watch,  and  then  the  crack  of  a 
rifle  was  followed  by  the  falling  of  a  human  body,  and  the 
laconic  report  was  passed  in:  “We  got  him.”  It  was  a  ghastly 
episode,  to  the  like  of  which  we  were  well  accustomed  before  the 
day  of  our  deliverance  arrived. 

Many  have  asked  me:  “Were  you  under  fire?”  There  was 
nothing  there  that  was  not  under  fire.  The  hottest  fire  was  re¬ 
ceived  on  the  lines  held  by  our  brave  soldiers  and  where  work 
on  fortifications  was  being  pressed;  but  no  spot  within  the  lines 
was  immune.  A  soldier,  coming  from  his  post  for  brief  rest,  sat 
upon  a  bench  under  a  tree.  A  rifle  ball,  intercepted  by  a  tree, 
glanced  his  way,  struck  and  killed  the  soldier.  The  seat  taken 
by  the  soldier  was  often  occupied  by  women  or  children.  I  was 
going  on  an  errand  down  a  walk  of  the  Legation  when  a  bullet 
came  my  way  with  a  sharp  swish.  I  had  an  impression  that  it 


18 


had  passed  through  my  skirts.  In  an  instant  I  found  myself 
about  ten  feet  from  where  I  had  been  and  did  not  know  how  I 
got  there.  I  turned  to  see  a  soldier  falling.  He  had  been  walk¬ 
ing  behind  me.  He  stepped  into  the  place  which  I  had  just 
passed,  and  by  so  much  I  escaped  and  he  fell  victim  to  the  rifle 
shot. 

One  hot  night  a  lady  went  with  me  to  get  a  drink  at  a  well  in 
the  midst  of  the  Legation.  As  we  made  our  way  through  the 
darkness,  we  walked  into  a  beam  of  light  that  shone  from  a  lan¬ 
tern  across  our  path.  Instantly  a  bullet  struck  the  ground  at 
our  heels. 

Before  many  days  had  passed,  shells  from  batteries  of  Krupp 
guns  began  to  scream  overhead.  Solid  shot  ploughed  through 
our  roofs  and  fell  into  some  of  our  rooms.  One  shot  passed  over 
the  beds  of  two  ladies,  who,  if  they  had  been  sitting  up,  might 
have  had  their  heads  taken  off.  One  plunged  through  the  wall 
of  Lady  MacDonald’s  dining  room,  passed  behind  a  large  por¬ 
trait  of  Queen  Victoria,  and  tore  its  way  through  the  opposite 
wall  and  fell  into  the  court  beyond.  Hundreds  of  shells  and  solid 
shots  fell  into  our  courts  in  one  day,  and  rifle  shots  cut  leaves 
and  branches  from  the  trees  and  lay  upon  the  ground  so  thick 
that  the  children  gathered  them  in  hatsful.  A  large  branch  of 
a  tree  was  cut  through  by  bullets  and  fell  across  a  threshold 
beyond  which  lodged  a  company  of  women. 


The  enemy  started  fires  close  to  our  lines  and  threatened  to 
engulf  us  in  a  general  conflagration.  They  brought  in  coal  dig¬ 
gers  from  the  hills  and  set  them  tunneling  mines  under  our  posi¬ 
tion.  One  explosion  left  only  two  great  holes  in  the  ground 
where  had  stood  the  residence  of  the  French  Minister  and  that 
of  the  First  Secretary  of  Legation.  .  .  . 

At  the  close  of  the  day  a  group  sat  on  the  steps  of  the  pavilion 
known  as  the  bell-tower,  whereon  stood  the  bulletin  board  with 
its  news  from  a  far  country.  They  began  to  sing.  As  the  strains 
of  “America”  floated  out  upon  the  night  air,  in  what  solemn 
radiance  dawned  visions  of  the  homeland !  Facing  death  every 
moment  of  every  day,  the  heart  had  so  certainly  turned  to  the 
home  beyond  that  the  home  of  this  life  had  faded  until  it  was 
as  unreal  as  the  future  life  usually  is. 


Now  with  a  bound,  the  sweet  possibilities  of  home  and  friends 
were  brought  near.  We  joined  the  singers,  we  sang  “America,” 
“Star  Spangled  Banner,”  “Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic,” 
“Marching  through  Georgia,”  and  “Tramp,  Tramp,  Tramp,  the 
Boys  are  Marching,”  hoping  intensely  that  they  were  marching 
our  way  right  speedily.  Having  sung  our  own  national  airs,  we 
tried  “The  Marseillaise.”  Then  from  over  the  way  in  the  pavi- 


19 


lion  where  the  French  had  their  quarters  there  arose  a  clapping. 
British  soldiers  had  drawn  near.  We  sang  with  them  “God  Save 
the  Queen."  (It  was  the  “Queen”  then).  Again  there  was  a 
clapping  of  hands.  We  sang  “Watch  on  the  Rhine”  with  the 
Germans  and  their  song  was  received  with  clapping.  Then  the 
ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  Russian  Legation  stood  forth.  They 
had  a  prima  donna  in  their  number,  and  they  rendered  grandly 
Russia  ’s  grand  national  hymn.  And  again  a  clapping  of  hands 
cheered  the  singers.  And  these  airs  which  were  cheered  by 
French,  Germans,  English,  and  Russians  were  the  very  airs  to 
which  their  armies  had  marched  against  each  other  in  years  past ! 
A  mutual  peril  had  united  their  interests,  brought  to  the  front 
the  essential  nobility  of  each,  and  developed  an  appreciation 
each  of  the  other.  And  these  singers  rejoiced  to  find  a  ground 
of  mutual  sympathy,  and  for  the  time  gave  no  thought  to  any 
possible  differences. 

The  Siege  Raised.  ( Pp .  276-278 ,  279-280.) 

August  14.  Firing  continued  from  eight  in  the  evening  with¬ 
out  intermission  except  the  briefest.  The  machine  guns  on  the 
west,  Colt ’s  Automatic,  at  the  Canal  fort,  were  fired  frequently 
during  the  night.  About  3  A.  M.,  Mr.  Gamewell  came  to  say  that 
the  troops  were  really  at  hand.  Gentlemen  gathered  at  the 
church  where  the  ladies  treated  them  to  cocoa  and  coffee.  Gen¬ 
eral  rejoicing  in  our  room  (ballroom),  but  I  was  the  only  one 
who  got  up  and  dressed.  I  did  not  know  of  company  at  church. 
We  talked  and  were  full  of  good  cheer  in  spite  of  bullets.  How¬ 
ever,  the  firing  became  less  fierce  after  the  foreign  artillery 
was  unmistakable.  They  say  the  Chinese  gathered  in  a  mass  on 
the  west  and  seemed  to  be  trying  to  pluck  up  courage  to  make  a 
rush,  but  after  firing  two  or  more  hours,  scattered  to  usual  posi¬ 
tions.  The  leaders  exhorted  “Pu  p’a,  Kuo-ch’u, ”  “Kuo  pu 
eh ’u”  (“Don’t  be  afraid.  Go  on  across.”  “We  can’t  get 
across.”) 

No  doubt  the  presence  of  the  fearful  machine  guns  on  the 
west  did  much,  if  not  everything,  to  restrain  the  Chinese  from 
rushing.  Mitchell,  an  American  gunner,  was  badly  wounded  sit¬ 
ting  behind  “Betsy,”  the  international  gun,  exposed  to  fire 
through  the  porthole  made  for  the  gun.  A  shell  exploded  in 
Sir  Claude’s  bedroom.  The  buildings  along  the  west  are  badly 
shattered  by  the  firing.  The  Chinese  are  giving  the  worst  they 
are  capable  of  in  these  final  hours — possibly  days.  The  troops 
are  supposed  to  be  the  advanced  guard,  in  which  case  they  will 
wait  for  the  main  army  and  we  cannot  tell  when  we  shall  see 
them. 


20 


A  German  marine  recently  discharged  from  hospital  was 
killed  last  night,  August  13.  The  Japanese  doctor  was  wounded. 
Mitchell’s  arm  was  shattered,  and  may  be  amputated.  Man  be¬ 
side  him  scratched  by  fragment  of  same  shot. 

August  14,  noon.  Heavy  artillery  at  Chi  H’ua  Gate.  Men 
on  wall  watch  shells  breaking  over  gate  tower.  Troops  by  thou¬ 
sands  moving  west.  Some  think  our  troops  are  surrounding  the 
city. 

August  14,  2 :30  P.  M.  I  was  stitching  sandbags  on  Mrs. 
Douw’s  sewing  machine  when  there  came  a  sound  of  running 
and  of  voices,  calling.  We  ran  out  and  soon  saw  the  turbaned 
heads  of  India  troops.  On  they  came  through  the  south  gate, 
shouting,  glad  to  be  the  first,  and  who  can  tell  how  glad  we 
were  to  see  them !  On  they  came  up  through  the  water  gate  al¬ 
most  on  the  run.  First  the  turbaned  Sikh  warriors  led  by  Brit¬ 
ish  officers,  then  the  helmeted  British,  and  last  our  boys  with 
slouch  hats  and  such  pitifully  haggard  faces.  We  cheered  and 
waved  and  wiped  our  eyes. 

The  Chinese  opened  a  furious  fire.  It  seemed  as  if  they 
could  not  know  that  the  troops  had  arrived.  A  Sikh  who  went 
to  the  gate  to  fire  the  Colt  gun  was  wounded  in  the  face,  and 
later  on  a  United  States  marine  also  was  wounded.  Our  de¬ 
liverers  had  heard  firing  as  far  away  as  Tung  Chou,  fourteen 
miles  east  of  Peking,  and  thus  knew  for  the  first  time  that  we 
were  still  alive ;  but  still  feared  that  they  might  be  too  late. 
They  were  hollow-eyed  and  haggard  from  rapid  marching  and 
repeated  hard  fighting. 

My  heart  throbbed  with  the  sense  of  gratitude,  admiration, 
and  devotion  as  we  greeted  the  heroes  who  came  to  our  deliver¬ 
ance.  There  was,  however,  a  cold  clutch  on  the  thrilling  glad¬ 
ness  when  I  was  reminded  of  the  soldiers,  the  missionaries,  the 
native  converts,  and  others  who  were  not.  .  .  . 

Saturday,  August  25,  1900.  Arrived  at  Tientsin  about  noon. 
A  big  mast  gave  way,  caused  by  bumping  into  something,  and 
fell,  barely  escaping  crushing  us.  The  poor  corporal  in  charge 
was  dreadfully  distressed,  because  it  crushed  the  rudder  and  he 
had  to  put  in  at  the  British  Consulate. 

A  member  of  the  Methodist  New  Connection  Mission  was  at 
Wei  Hai  Wei  when  news  of  the  relief  of  Peking  arrived.  A 
small  vessel  came  into  the  harbor  at  Wei  Hai  Wei  and  flew 
the  signal  “Peking  relieved,  Ministers  safe,”  and  repeated  the 
signal  until  it  was  taken  upon  shore;  and  then  hurried  off  down 
the  coast  signaling  wherever  anxious  ones  waited  news  from  the 
army  advancing  to  the  besieged  capital.  Men  rushed  out  calling 


21 


to  one  another:  “ Peking  relieved,  Ministers  safe.”  One  rushed 
to  Mr.  Headley’s  and  shouted:  “Peking  relieved,  Ministers  safe.” 
Mr.  Headley  took  his  hat  and  shouted :  ‘  ‘  Peking  relieved,  Min¬ 
isters  safe.  ’  ’  He  met  a  friend  and  repeated  the  glad  cry :  1  1  Pek¬ 
ing  relieved,  Ministers  safe.”  His  friend  ejaculated,  “Good 
gracious!  You  don’t  say  so,”  and  immediately  ran  off  echoing: 
“Peking  relieved,  Ministers  safe.” 

The  Closing  Years  of  Her  Life.  ( Pp .  284-285,  298-299, 
303.) 

After  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gamewell  had  come  to  America,  her 
health  seemed  to  improve,  and  they  planned,  as  soon  as  the  way 
opened,  to  return  to  their  work  in  China,  even  going  so  far  as 
to  purchase  furniture  and  books,  and  packing  them  for  ship¬ 
ping.  But  in  every  instance,  just  before  fixing  the  time,  there 
would  occur  some  threatening  symptoms  in  her  condition  which 
compelled  the  postponement  of  the  date. 

In  the  meanwhile  Mr.  Gamewell  was  appointed  by  the  Mis¬ 
sionary  Board  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  as  Field  Sec¬ 
retary  and  afterward  Executive  Secretary  of  the  Open  Door 
Commission,  having  his  office  in  New  York  City.  During  the 
greater  part  of  their  time,  he  and  Mrs.  Gamewell  made  their 
home  with  his  sister,  Mrs.  A.  H.  Tuttle,  Summit,  New  Jersey. 

During  these  years  of  enfeebled  health,  Mrs.  Gamewell  was 
indefatigable  in  labor.  While  she  conscientiously  followed  the 
counsel  of  her  medical  advisers,  and  at  one  time  spent  nearly  an 
entire  year  in  retirement  under  treatment  in  a  sanitarium,  her 
unimpaired  spiritual  force  made  it  impossible  for  her  to  be  idle. 
It  is  astonishing  what  an  enormous  amount  of  work  this  brave 
woman  did  after  her  return  from  China. 

She  was  constantly  traveling  over  the  country,  addressing 
conventions  and  Conferences,  organizing  auxiliaries,  and  striv¬ 
ing  by  personal  interviews  to  awaken  the  people  to  an  apprecia¬ 
tion  of  the  supreme  importance  of  this  hour  in  the  redemption  of 
China. 

And  her  skillful  pen  was  ever  busy.  She  wrote  a  number  of 
charming  tracts  on  subjects  relating  to  the  work  of  God  in  China. 
Two  articles  in  The  Chautauquan  entitled  respectively,  “From 
Sea  to  Peking”  and  “Up  the  Yangste  to  Thibet,”  are  of  his¬ 
torical  value.  A  booklet  entitled  China,  New  and  Old,  reads  like 
a  romance  and  has  had  an  immense  circulation.  Her  most  elab¬ 
orate  work,  on  which  she  was  toiling  when  her  pen  fell  from  her 
hand,  is  an  account  of  the  siege  in  Peking,  published  in  this 


22 


volume.  The  story  had  been  written  out  from  her  notes  and  is 
published  without  revision.  .  .  . 

During  the  summer  of  1906  symptoms  of  arterial  hardening 
appeared,  and  by  the  advice  of  an  eminent  specialist,  she  was 
taken  to  a  sanitarium  for  treatment.  But  as  she  did  not  im¬ 
prove,  it  was  thought  best  for  her  to  return  to  Summit,  New 
Jersey,  where  she  could  be  near  her  physician  and  have  the  lov¬ 
ing  ministries  of  her  home.  The  arterial  hardening,  however, 
was  rapid  in  its  progress  and  attacked  the  cerebral  vessels. 
While  her  mind  was  perfectly  clear  until  a  few  weeks  before 
the  end,  a  form  of  aphasia  occurred  in  which  it  was  impossible 
for  her  readily  to  command  words.  She  was  thus  prevented 
during  eight  long  weeks  of  confinement  to  the  sick  room  from 
communicating  by  speech  with  those  who  loved  her,  and  who 
would  have  prized  words  from  her  lips  at  such  a  time  as  gems 
of  incalculable  value.  But  they  were  not  without  communica¬ 
tions  from  her,  truer  perhaps  and  with  larger  revelations  of  her 
soul,  because  not  confined  within  the  bounds  of  limiting  speech. 
Her  spirit  seeking  expression,  beamed  in  her  countenance  with 
a  luminosity  that  was  not  of  this  earth,  a  solar  light  such  as  no 
artist  could  possibly  paint  about  the  heads  of  his  saints.  There 
was  a  spiritual  communion  in  that  sick  chamber,  akin  to  that 
which  a  soul  has  with  God,  and  as  real.  .  .  . 

On  November  17,  her  last  audible  word  was  spoken,  and 
from  that  time  she  lingered  either  fully  or  partially  unconscious 
till  November  27,  1906,  when  her  spirit  took  its  flight. 

She  has  left  a  precious  memory,  a  character  beautiful  in  its 
union  of  gentleness  and  strength,  a  life  great  in  courage  and  in 
entire  consecration  to  others’  good,  a  religion  which  has  its 
full  expression  in  the  words  she  loved  so  well,  “All  for  Jesns.” 
When  we  looked  upon  those  still  lips  once  so  eloquent  with  the 
gospel  message,  it  was  borne  in  upon  our  hearts  that  this  is  a 
part  of  the  immense  price  of  China’s  redemption. 


23 


SERIES  OF  PROGRAMS  NOW  AVAILABLE 

Course  Number  One 

JAMES  CHALMERS,  Martyr  of  New  Guinea 

JAMES  GILMOUR,  Pioneer  in  Mongolia 

WILFRED  T.  GRENFEL,  Knight-Errant  of  the  North 

ADONIRAM  JUDSON,  Herald  of  the  Cross  in  Burma 

ION  KEITH-FALCONER,  Defender  of  the  Faith  in  Arabia 

DAVID  LIVINGSTONE,  Africa’s  Pathfinder  and  Emancipator 

ALEXANDER  M.  MACKAY,  Uganda’s  White  Man  of  Work 

HENRY  M ARTYN,  Persia ’s  Man  of  God 

ROBERT  MORRISON,  Protestant  Pioneer  in  China 

JOHN  G.  PATON,  King  of  the  Cannibals 

MARY  SLESSOR,  The  White  Queen  of  Calabar 

MARCUS  WHITMAN,  Hero  of  the  Oregon  Country 

Course  Number  Two 

CAPTAIN  LUKE  BICKEL,  Master  Mariner  of  the  Inland  Sea 
WILLIAM  CAREY,  Founder  of  Modern  Missions 
ALEXANDER  DUFF,  India’s  Educational  Pioneer 
MARY  PORTER  GAME  WELL,  Heroine  of  the  Boxer  Rebellion 
FRANK  HIGGINS,  Sky  Pilot  of  the  Lumbermen 
RAYMUND  LULL,  First  Missionary  to  the  Moslems 
GEORGE  L.  MACKAY,  Pioneer  Missionary  in  Formosa 
JOHN  K.  MACKENZIE,  The  Beloved  Physician  of  Tientsin 
ROBERT  MOFFAT,  Friend  of  the  African 

JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON,  Martyr  Bishop  of  the  South 

Seas 

J.  HUDSON  TAYLOR,  Founder  of  the  China  Inland  Mission 
JOHN  WILLIAMS,  Shipbuilder  in  the  South  Seas 


No.  316 — M.E.I. — 1M — May,  1926 


24 


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